Bed and Breakfast
 

Going to be touring south England in August and want to stay in B&Bs. Do we need to book these in advance? Want as much flexibility as possible.

Thanx in advance.

August is a very busy month for travel and if, as your name implies, there are 4 of you needing 2 rooms or a large family room, this can be difficult to find in small B & Bs. Weekends are especially hard. Don't think you want to be wasting time finding rooms instead of enjoying. I'd book ahead.

August is the busiest month for English holidays, so if you want to stay in a specific establishment, booking in advance would be a good idea. It helps if you're not too fussy: if you want a room for five people with a sea view, and a vegan breakfast, then start booking now. If you can be flexible, then don't worry. Visit local tourist offices or, if you're driving, look out for "B&B" signs by the roadside. Try to fix up each night as early as possible - don't arrive in a strange town in the evening and expect to find a room easily.

Hi, four2travel. Think of it as a trade-off. We've done it both ways. W/o reservations we had flexibility about where to go next, but we had to devote considerable time with every move -- first stopping in at a local tourist office, waiting our turn if it was busy, working w/the good folks who found a place for us, and then (with a tourist office map) driving to locate the b&b. If you like to remain in one place for three nights (probably rec'g a better rate), you only have to go through the process once in awhile, but in a busy season there might not be 3 nights available in a single b&b. Conversely, with reservations, our itinerary was sort of locked in but only as far as where we slept. We booked from 4 to 7 nights in one place and selected those which enabled us to 'freely' choose each day's itinerary from a wide variety of destinations. J.

It always best to book ahead. Often with good B&Bs the owner will know all the other B&B owners in the area and will ring around for you. I have mentioned this please before here, but when in the Weld of Kent we always stay here:
http://www.lamberdenhouse.co.uk/

I've done both: book ahead and "book as you go" and there are advantages to either method.

If you do decide to go without advanced booking, I second the previous poster's advice about using the Tourist Information Centres (TICs) that are located in many towns. They are very helpful and their service charge is minimal. Some also offer a "book ahead" feature that you can use to find a B&B at your next destination.

David White
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As the others said - the TICs will be able to find you rooms in many areas. But a lot depends on WHERE in "south England" you plan on traveling. In August Cornwall for instance is just about booked up, whereas in some other less visited areas, rooms are easier to find.

If I were going to Bath, Cornwall, the Devon coast or the Cotswolds in August, I would probably book ahead. If I was going to Somerset, Dorset or parts of Hampshire I'd play it by ear.